Eddie Alvarez receives official offer from the UFC

When lightweight Eddie Alvarez completed his contracted run with Bellator it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before the talented 155er ended up inside the Octagon. Now his potential debut in the infamous eight-sided cage has taken a major step towards becoming a reality.

According to Sports Illustrated, the world’s foremost MMA promotion recently presented Alvarez’s camp with an offer to join the UFC roster. Though specifics were not discussed, it’s likely to involve a significant pay hike from his old stomping grounds. However, in co-ordinance with his previous deal, Bellator has two weeks to match the UFC’s terms and is already in the process of exploring the upside of doing so.

At 24-3, Alvarez is considered to be one of the top lightweights in the sport. 21 of his wins have involved some form of stoppage including those in recent rumbles against Patricky Freire and Shinya Aoki. Other notable opponents Alvarez has taken out during his run in the ring include Tatsuya Kawajiri, Josh Neer, Roger Huerta, and Pat Curran.

fucking take it man, so many people wanna see him fight the best on a regular basis. including me.
his fights in BFC have been great but i want to see him fight Gilbert & Gray & Cerrone & Diaz & Lauzon & Varner & Guillard & Bendo & Etim & Stout etc etc

Guaranteed money is probably the key to this getting done by one promotion or the other…
I think the UFC needed Lombard for a viable challenger for Silva more then they need a fresh faced LW challenger… LW is stacked plus you got Melendez, Thompson coming over. So Zuffa throwing huge bucks at Eddie probably isn’t the case… Is it a sweeter deal then most first contracts yeah of coarse but is it the best they can do? No probably far from it.

IMO Eddie really seems motivated by $$$ ( who isn’t? ) and I think if he can get some ridiculous show/ win money from bellator he will stick around…( when the bulk of your competition is mediocre, the win money is more of a sure bet) & who knows what Viacom is offering to sweeten the deal? He could be a coach on the new fighter reality show Spike is putting together ( tons of face time and exposure) and maybe even be given a rematch with the champ now that they opened up the title shot policy a lil bit… Who knows ?

For most UFC guys, the money they make from sponsors is equal to or greater than what the UFC is actually paying them. The big stage of the UFC is a tremendous built-in advantage, giving them a big edge in luring the top fighters, who in turn gain significant leverage in negotiating deals with sponsors when they join the UFC roster.

If Outback Steakhouse is offering 5 bucks an hour (plus tips of course), and the upscale 5-star steakhouse in the heart of the city is offering the same, it becomes a no-brainer. Yeah, the base pay is similar, and Outback might provide a more pleasant work environment with easier management to deal with, but you put up with the bullshit of the upscale establishment because of the big advantage it has with what matters most — your final take home pay.

Well, Bellator is Outback and the UFC is the swank joint. Guys like Lombard or Alvarez would have to be dumb (financially speaking) to turn down a UFC offer. And the beauty of being the UFC is they really don’t need to bother trying to outbid these other orgs.